Zucchini on an Autumn Day
by claraowl
Summary: Spoiling Princess Misaki was not as easy as it first appeared to Takumi - or, at least, that is what he would discover during their trek through the market maze, in search of a happy ending.


**Claraowl: I do not own KWMS! I apologize for any OoCness; I'm working on it, really I am….**

Takumi whistled happily; it was a gorgeous autumn day, there was a market in town, and he was walking hand-in-hand with the love of his life and soon-to-be-wife. The two of them crunched cheerily through the falling leaves, enjoying the breeze playing across their faces. He glanced over at his companion and was amused to see that her face matched the hue of the falling maple leaves almost exactly. Snickering slightly, he pulled her hand up to his lips and kissed it. She blushed even more furiously and yanked her hand away; Takumi pouted.

"You're so mean, Misaki," he sighed, slipping his arm around her waist. "And here I was, thinking that you liked holding my hand."

"You know full well that you were the one who insisted upon it," she spat back. "I'm fine, even if I forgot my gloves. I don't need your help."

"I thought we were past this, Misaki," Takumi whispered. "I thought that you could accept my help now. Do you really not need me, Misaki?"

"Oh, look, we're here!" Misaki exclaimed, displaying an extreme lack of subtlety in her subject change. Shaking out of his grip, she hurried forward into the slight crowd.

"And here we are," Takumi grinned, noting that she had - apparently subconsciously - allowed him to take her hand again, so that they would not get separated.

The marketplace wasn't exactly large, but its layout made up for its size. The stalls were arranged in an almost mazelike pattern, each row branching off in far too many directions to count. It was into this barrage of sights, smells, and sounds that Misaki led Takumi - with the latter of the two, of course, beaming insanely. The former veered off to the left, into a colorful cluster of tent-covered stalls.

"Where are we going, Misaki?" Takumi inquired, easily matching her pace.

"Nowhere in particular," she replied with relative calm, despite the lovely cerise shade that colored her cheeks.

"Sounds like a plan," he nodded. "How about we go in there?"

After taking one look at the indicated tent, Misaki shot the idea down. "I refuse to get another fortune done. I'm sick and tired of hearing the same thing every time."

"But we always prove them wrong, don't we?" he grinned, playing with the ring on her fourth finger.

"I just want to know why they all say the same thing," Misaki muttered.

"Does it bother you that they all think that we're doomed to face hardship if we stay together?" Takumi chuckled softly.

"Why would -" Misaki began to growl, before stopping herself. After clearing her throat, she said shortly, "We already have. Let's just continue with the market, okay?" Glancing at him, she added, "Why are you smirking?"

Takumi merely smirked more widely and dragged her into the tent. "Hello," he said politely to the befuddled turban-wearer, "we'd like a fortune, please."

"You do, but your lady doesn't," she replied with some amusement. "However, if you insist…"

Takumi nodded exuberantly. "I do insist," he informed her, handing her the one hundred fifty yen required as payment for the fortune.

The fortune teller, smirking slightly, replied, "As you wish." With that, she leaned over her crystal ball and began a string of bizarre mutterings. "Crackers and chess pieces, sifting flour on the beach for the sugar to grow in a forest and beneath blooms of light in the night sky… costumes on rye, giggling over stories misinterpreted - not usually a love story, just an infatuation, but not in this case. A traveling white on black to find a green lover goes to the land of tea and Bloody Mary. It's all over in an instant, back twice as fast… the cake denies the frosting on her back and the milk inside herself. All goes haywire, and a maze of maize grows around the cake and the frosting… eternity is found in zucchini."

Several long moments after this rather lengthy food-related explanation, Misaki asked blankly, "And that means… what?"

"Quite simply put," the fortune-teller smiled, "you've been through a lot and you'll have to go through a lot more if you two want to stay together. In most cases, people as incompatible as you two cannot stay in a healthy relationship. In your case, however, I think that there may be a chance - a very slim one, of course. Good day, and do remember to drop by my sister's stall - it's only a little bit away."

"Thank you," Takumi nodded, pulling Misaki out of the tent after him.

"See? Doom again," Misaki sighed. "That was a waste of money."

"It wasn't total doom, though," Takumi pointed out. "At least she acknowledged that we have a chance."

"She didn't say anything we didn't already know," Misaki huffed, matching his pace. "It's not like we're breaking up anytime soon."

"So you admit that we have a chance of a fairytale ending?" Takumi grinned.

Misaki rolled her eyes. "What are you on about now, alien?"

"Look!" Takumi exclaimed suddenly. "There's someone selling maple syrup."

"Maple syrup?" Misaki repeated questioningly, half-jogging to keep up with her overly excited fiancé.

"For breakfast!" he beamed. "Pick out a type, Misaki."

"Why? You're the one who's going to be using it in the near future, idiot," Misaki laughed.

Takumi smiled back at her, "Syrup lasts a long time, so I can think of you every time I use it."

"But what if I pick out a type that you don't like?" Misaki asked, raising one eyebrow.

"I promise that I will love anything that Misaki picks out for me," Takumi pledged.

"Really? Anything?" Misaki asked incredulously. "Even that?" She pointed across the street to another stall, in which a rather large collection of exquisitely hideous corndog-inspired art pieces lay.

"Anything within reason," Takumi grinned, "but then, my Misaki wouldn't pick out anything without a good reason."

"Who says I'm yours?" Misaki asked, her face returning to a pleasant cerise shade.

"You do," Takumi beamed. "After all, you said 'yes,' even if you did want to punch me."

"I plead insanity," Misaki muttered, picking out a bottle of maple syrup and handing it to him. "Here, blueberry maple syrup. It has good ingredients and a decent price."

"As expected of my Misa-chan," Takumi beamed, kissing her cheek. "Do you want pancakes, waffles, or scones for breakfast the next time you stay over?"

"Hmm… waffles," Misaki decided.

"As you wish, my love," the blonde alien grinned in reply, and then paid the owner of the stall for the maple syrup. Then, syrup in hand, he strolled back into the row of stalls. "Do you see anything you like?"

"The clouds seem fluffier than usual," Misaki noted, motioning to the visible mass of water particles floating in midair far above their heads. "It's almost as if someone took a large amount of cotton and glued it to a blue backdrop."

"How about a little closer to earth, Misaki?" Takumi laughed, gesturing around them.

"The trees are nice, as well," Misaki said fairly, completely missing the point of this line of questioning.

Takumi, realizing that she had no clue what he was talking about, persisted, "I mean to say, is there anything that you want?"

"I hear that there's supposed to be a meteor shower sometime soon," Misaki replied. "I'd like to see that."

Takumi, giving up completely, asked with slight aggravation, "Is there anything that you want me to buy?"

Misaki blinked at him. "No, not really. Why?"

When the taller of the pair went to push his palm into his forehead, all he succeeded in doing was smacking himself in the chin with the bottle of maple syrup. "Ouch," he muttered, glaring darkly at the bottle.

Misaki snickered.

"What?" Takumi asked, raising one eyebrow. "Haven't you ever seen someone lose a battle to a syrup bottle before?"

"No," she gasped, now laughing helplessly, "but I'm sure that I will again sometime."

"You're going to get it later for that remark," Takumi growled playfully. "For now, however, I will settle for you kissing my chin to make it better."

"No," Misaki replied, blushing madly. "We're in public."

"So what?" Takumi grinned, pulling her closer to him. "We're engaged, aren't we?"

"That's beside the point!" Misaki hissed, pulling away from him.

"No, Misa, that _is _the point," he replied, re-twining their fingers and smiling. "We're engaged, so they can't judge us."

"It's still embarrassing," Misaki insisted, inclining her head slightly to the crowd that surrounded them. "There are too many people around."

"Later, then?" Takumi asked, running one finger along her jaw - being careful, of course, not to bump her with the syrup bottle.

"Maybe," she blushed, "but can we just continue looking around the market for now?"

"Only if you tell me what you want me to buy you," Takumi smiled.

"Why are you so hung up on that?" she inquired, glancing up at him as they passed another stall.

"Can I help wanting to spoil my princess, Misaki?" Takumi asked in reply.

"What is it with you and fairytales?" Misaki sighed in exasperation, pausing to examine the contents of a stall.

"Maybe," Takumi whispered, leaning down to her ear, "maybe I just want to be happy, Misaki. It's all I've ever wanted… and you're all I've ever needed for my 'happily ever after' to come true."

Misaki's cheeks flared crimson. "Z-Zucchini," she stuttered.

"What?" Takumi blinked in confusion.

"I'm answering your question from before. I want zucchini, and I want you to teach me how to make that stir-fry," Misaki informed him, beginning to pick out the aforementioned vegetable.

Takumi's expression of confusion melted away to one of happiness. "Your word is my command, Princess Misaki."

"You and your lines," Misaki muttered, blushing and pushing the vegetable into his hands.

Takumi beamed. Maybe - just maybe - his happily ever after wasn't as far away as it appeared.

**Claraowl: Well, this seemed a bit pointlessly fluffy, but it was fun to write. ^^ I apologize for the ever-OoCness of the characters (I'm trying, really I am), and hope that you enjoyed it and will drop me a review! **


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